Well, it's basically a real-life Battle Royale. Thrillseekers go to an abandoned barracks in Russia, get drunk, strap on kevlar vests, and fight a war-game with live ammunition.posted by Drexen at 5:25 AM on February 15, 2013

From 20 min on, you get the *spoiler*.

But the 'movie/docu' does a pretty good job of painting the story of Craaaaaazy Russkies! which is a stereo type in Germany (that I've come across at least). This is intentional.

It is worth watching to the end - it's not groundbreaking, perhaps, but from a country with such a poignant history of... it has its frisson.posted by From Bklyn at 5:27 AM on February 15, 2013

But the 'movie/docu' does a pretty good job of painting the story of Craaaaaazy Russkies! which is a stereo type in Germany

Seems like a lot of effort just to demonstrate video and image manipulation techniques that were in wide use in say, 1995.

Could they not have added a space-ship with a big bug or something?posted by lampshade at 6:06 AM on February 15, 2013

I thought it was irresponsible and smug. I watched it all the way to the spoiler, but not everybody will.posted by aturoff at 6:20 AM on February 15, 2013

Could they make such a programme about being critical to the chain e-mails / status updates you receive, at least before you send them on?

And yeah... this one didn't really convince me, but I think that was to do the subject matter. Such a story would have broken in other media before I saw something like that. Had it been about something "less newsworthy", like, how those crazy Russians have weird tastes in fashion, or something like that, I'd probably be more easily duped.posted by cx at 6:28 AM on February 15, 2013

Well, it's always hard to know when you reveal too much or too little in the description. Just make sure to watch it past the 20 min mark to get it.posted by Fillus at 6:36 AM on February 15, 2013

There's a twist after the 20 minute mark.posted by cx at 7:01 AM on February 15, 2013

Touchy touchy, MetaFilter, just set it aside for later and forget to watch it like everyone else! (No but I'm actually going to try to watch this because it does look interesting)posted by Mooseli at 7:02 AM on February 15, 2013 [2 favorites]

I liked it. Solid story. The 19 minute "Well what did you think was going to happen fuckwit?" lecture going on inside my head had a nice "F-U yourself, you social-stereotyping suburbanite! Quit believing all the crap you see on TV!" turn at the 20 minute mark twist.

A German documentary of Russian war games M.NightShamalams into a documentary on the nature and impact of TV production.posted by anti social order at 9:12 AM on February 15, 2013

If you don't have a lot of time, watch the first two minutes, minutes 5&6, and then minutes 18-22. You'll have enough background to get and understand the twist. Think of it as a 19 minute introduction for a 10 minute film; however, the 19 minutes helps establish your willingness to identify your own prejudices.

This could also be subtitled: "Matt Damon and Ben Stein will have careers in voice-overs forever."posted by Nanukthedog at 9:39 AM on February 15, 2013

Reminds me of the editing scene in Lianna (John Sayles)...posted by Dreidl at 10:37 AM on February 15, 2013

I only watched the highlights Nanukthedog noted, but boy, the "twist" was a total letdown. I was hoping it'd turn into a "documentary" about the videogame soldiers in multiplayer deathmatch games like Call of Duty, with "dead" guys popping back to the starting point.posted by mkultra at 10:58 AM on February 15, 2013

The twist is better when you are emotionally invested in it - hence the 19 minutes of messing with you.posted by Nanukthedog at 2:20 PM on February 15, 2013

OK I can gather that they want to have the viewer emotionally invested, but to that end, they should have gone with a subject matter that is less obviously made-up.posted by Authorized User at 3:21 AM on February 16, 2013

It looks and sounds exactly like regular German tv, is the thing. And the story pushes the limit of the believable very very gently, some of that gets lost in translation.

You could almost imagine any '60 minutes' piece that seems a little insane in its stead.posted by From Bklyn at 4:26 AM on February 16, 2013

Tags

Share

About MetaFilter

MetaFilter is a weblog that anyone can contribute a link or a comment to. A typical weblog is one person posting their thoughts on the unique things they find on the web. This website exists to break down the barriers between people, to extend a weblog beyond just one person, and to foster discussion among its members.